Family Under Siege: A Desperate Fight for Survival and Sanity

“That was so cool!” Cain exclaimed and gave Lisa a friendly jab to her shoulder.

“You lasted way longer than any of those cowboys did!” Marcus chimed in.

“Boys, don’t encourage her,” their mother said, in a stern voice. Lisa smiled at her brothers despite her mother’s tone.

“She’s a cowboy alright,” Jeffrey added.

Lisa smiled when he winked at her. She hadn’t climbed on the horse with any intentions other than to try something that looked fun, but her brothers were so proud of her, she couldn’t help but be excited. She could tell by the look on her father’s face, that he too was impressed, but trying hard to not show it.

In fact, if her mother had been truly angry, she would be saying much more than she was. And, come to think of it, her mother kept looking out of the window of the limousine as they drove on. Lisa leaned forward for a better look … it was true! Her mother was trying to stifle a smile.

‘You’re not really angry!” Lisa exclaimed. Unable to restrain herself any more, her mother out right laughed.

“And you accuse me of encouraging her!” Lisa’s father joked.

“Admit it Mom,” Jeffrey said, “when you realized it was Lisa on that horse, you loved it!”

“Now Jeffrey … “

“Come on Sharon, who do you think you’re kidding. You had the boys and Lisa on horses, skiis, water skiis, at shooting ranges, parachuting for Christ sakes, all before their 5th birthdays. I hardly think you were surprised to see Lisa on that horse … and I think you were more tickled by it than all of us combined!” Her father said while laughing.

Lisa loved that laugh. He often laughed that way when they did things together, whether it was speeding down a mountain side while skiing, or fixing the bathroom plumbing, it didn’t seem to matter. She looked at her family around her. Her mother and father. Her oldest brother Jeffrey, at 22 years old, he was four years older than her. Cain, 21 years old, and Marcus 19 years old … nothing made her happier than her family. She loved those faces, and it felt so good to see her parents laughing again. For the past few days they had been so serious, so nervous.

Suddenly, something didn’t feel right. Uneasiness began to grow in the pit of Lisa’s stomach.

“Alright Jacob,” Sharon gave in, hands raised in surrender, “but just because I believe in letting my children experience a wide range of activities doesn’t mean I want my child to be trampled by a wild horse.” A giggle escaped her. “But did you see the faces on those people?” she demanded. “Those ranch hands couldn’t stay on that horse for more than a couple of seconds. Lisa … you did just as well as they did! But whatever possessed you to do it?”

Lisa shrugged, confused by the dread that was beginning to grow in her.

“It looked like fun,” she replied.

“Like fun!” Jeffrey repeated, “It looked freakin’ terrifying!”

“Language Jeffrey … “ Their mother said wagging her finger at him.

There was something wrong … something about this moment with her family seemed so familiar, like it had happened before.

“Lisa, you have to stop and think sometimes,” her mother continued. “You can’t just do everything on impulse. It’s going to get you in trouble some time.”

“You’re mother is right Lisa …” her father began, just like she knew he would, and not just because he always did. This had happened before.

“Dad, “she said, suddenly grasping her father’s hand, and then her mother’s. “Are we safe now? Is it all over?” Suddenly the smiles were gone from her parents’ faces. Jeffery, Cain and Marcus all looked at their parents expectantly.

“Not yet,” their mother replied, squeezing Lisa’s hand in hers. “We’re safe with Wesley driving, and some of Mommy and Daddy’s friends protecting us … “ she nodded her head at the back window, where a grey sedan followed close behind their car, and to the front, where a cream colored station wagon led the way. “It won’t be long, don’t worry.”

“Besides, Mom and Dad have their guns … If anything happens they’ll take care of it … hey with all the targets you’ve been hitting at the range … you could take care of it for us,” Jeffrey added with a wink.

Lisa began to shake her head … it wasn’t true. She couldn’t take care of them!

She looked out of the window and saw the beginning of a curve in the road. Something awful was going to happen!

“Stop!” she yelled.

“Lisa, what is it?” her mother asked.

“Stop the car … please!”

Lisa threw off her seatbelt, and scrambled to the window that separated them from the driver and pounded on it.

“Wesley stop! Stop the car!”

“Lisa … sit down!“ she heard her father’s voice say from behind her.

Gun fire erupted from outside the car.

“No! No! No!” Lisa yelled, turning she saw the bodies of her parents, Marcus and Cain tossed around the car like rag dolls.

“Shoot Lisa!” Jeffrey was yelling. Lisa looked down to her hands. She was holding her mother’s gun. She knew she’d picked it up, and she knew she wouldn’t use it. “You can do it Lisa, shoot!” And then there was a sickening thump and Jeffrey’s head seemed to explode.

“No!” she screamed and sat up.

A searing pain shot up her arm, and she threw herself back to relieve it. The handcuff chafed her wrist, and she felt her head hit the headboard. It dazed her for a moment, but then terror pulled her through.

“What the …” a groggy voice said from beside her. She thrashed her body until the heavy arm that lay across her disappeared.

“Mom! Dad! Jeffrey! Cain! Marcus! Come back … please, come back!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. A hand pressed down on her mouth and a heavy body rolled on top of her.

“Shut up Jessica!” a voice hissed, and she recognized it as Angus’.

A whole new sense of horror consumed her. Angus. She was in his room, in his bed. She’d been used already, she remembered now … she could feel the burning between her legs.

It was something they’d started doing in the past few months … she had thought they’d been cruel all along, she hadn’t realized how much worse it could get.

Lisa had thought that their insistence on changing her name from Lisa to Jessica, and treating her like an animal by tying her to a leash, had taken her to the limits of her humiliation.

But she’d been wrong.

None of the mind games, beatings, verbal assaults and intimidations could match the violation she felt when they began to use her body for their enjoyment.

Now Lisa felt the terror grow. Angus would be mad at her for dreaming again … she should have been quieter. He’d use this as an excuse to abuse her again.

Damn him, and damn the others. She thrashed beneath his weight and tried to strike at him with everything she had available to her, but her arms and legs were pinned beneath his body, his hand held her head down.

‘God damn her!’ Angus thought as he tried to hold her still. Why couldn’t she just hurry up and learn her place? Despite being awoken from a deep sleep, he had enough of his wits about him to realize that he’d been hugging her. And it had felt good.
That bitch Beth had been his first and only girlfriend. Once she was gone, he had experienced a few years of lonely existence.

Yes, he had the men Riley, Josh, Scott, Jim, and Kevin when he got out of prison … practically brothers. But no one to share his bed. No one to be his. He knew now without a doubt that he should have listened to his father’s advice about women. If he’d ruled Beth with the same iron fist that his father had ruled his mother … but then there was the irony of it all. In

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THE END